The Christ Church columbarium contains the ashes of 125 people.
Some local residents might have been spooked recently when they walked by a large sign in front of Christ Church Cathedral, informing them that part of a cemetery was being closed down as part of the major redevelopment set to begin around the Centretown site.
But contrary to what the sign suggests, “there never was a cemetery here,” says John Gomes, the manager of the church’s columbarium.
Instead, on the crypt level of the church, located at the west end of Sparks Street, there sits a columbarium, which is a repository for cremated remains. The crypt always existed underneath the Anglican cathedral, but only began to hold ashes in 2000, says Gomes.
The stone walls hold 468 niches for urns filled with ashes, 312 of which are doubles and hold two urns. The niches in the walls each have a brass door where the name of the deceased and their birth and death dates are engraved. So far, the columbarium contains the remains of about 125 people, Gomes says.
The large sign is there to let the public know that a section of the lot is going to be closed and no longer considered part of what provincial law considers a cemetery.
Although the church thought about opening a columbarium as early as the 1980s, it only became legal to build columbarium facilities in Ontario in 1996. The church then had to designate the lot as a cemetery to be allowed to build the columbarium.
The condominium that is planned for a part of the church property cannot be built on cemetery grounds, so the area of the lot that will be used for the new residential complex must be declared closed as a cemetery, Gomes says.
After extensive research, it became clear that no one had ever been buried in this area and no one had any rights to be buried there either, but the public has 45 days to submit any opposition to rezoning proposal.
Plans for the Cathedral Hill redevelopment project, which includes construction of the condominium building, townhouses, and a 12-storey office building, have been ongoing since 2009.
The church’s cathedral hall, built in the 1950s, will be demolished and rebuilt closer to the cathedral to make space for the condominium building. An underground parking lot will also be constructed.
“A lot of churches are facing terrible times,” says Leslie Maitland, president of Heritage Ottawa.
With shrinking congregations and the responsibility of preserving these old buildings, churches have to find ways to finance repairs and upkeep. They have to do this without relying on change from the pockets of churchgoers, adds David Jeanes, vice-president of Heritage Ottawa.
Christ Church Cathedral is no exception.
The congregation’s plan is a good model for how to support these sorts of properties, Maitland says. However, there will be drastic changes to the municipally designated heritage area, which includes the church, the Roper House, and Lauder Hall.
The condominium building will limit views of the Ottawa River for people living on the south side of Queen Street, and there will be modern buildings interspersed between these historical structures. “It’s a compromise,” Maitland says, “but it’s a reasonable compromise.”